The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (PM&C) provides support to the Prime Minister in his many roles –leader of the Australian Government, Chair of the Cabinet, Chair of the National Cabinet and Minister for the Australian Public Service (APS).
PM&C’s role in responding to the priorities of the Government also underpins its work in supporting the Secretary as the leader of the APS. This occurs in the context of our goal to promote a united public service operating as an APS-enterprise. Driving a public service reform agenda, PM&C will deliver Government priorities with a focus on recovery.
In 2020, the already complex issues facing Government have been eclipsed by the once in a one hundred year global COVID-19 pandemic. The importance of protecting the health of all Australians, along with safeguarding Australia’s economic and national security interests, has never been greater. The need for Government to respond quickly to the pandemic in collaboration and alignment with state and territory governments has been critical to Australia’s capacity to manage the significant consequences of the pandemic. While the risks presented by COVID-19 and its ongoing impact remain, the operating environment in which we live and work will continue to be uncertain.
The new leader-led framework for commonwealth-state relations established through the National Cabinet during the COVID-19 pandemic was an essential part of Australia’s successful response so far, by embedding regular discussion and collaboration in response to this national and international health and economic emergency. National Cabinet’s decision to streamline ministerial councils from the previous Council of Australian Governments arrangements will further strengthen the new architecture and allow policy and implementation issues to be addressed via a more dynamic and purpose-driven approach to reset the economy for growth and recovery.
PM&C recognises and promotes a whole-of-government perspective, partly through our unique policy coordination role; we contribute a nationwide perspective through our support to the National Cabinet and our understanding of the Prime Minister’s expectations. Given PM&C’s experience in maintaining and delivering robust Cabinet processes, parliamentary practice and Executive Council support, we also bring to bear our expertise on good governance.
Governing in a democracy presents challenges. It requires continual effort, change is rapid and ever-present and public expectations of elected governments have never been greater. PM&C is in a position to connect complex issues in order to build our understanding and shape outcomes, to effectively co-ordinate across government, to meet accountability obligations and to support the Prime Minister in all his responsibilities.
We maintain oversight of the ongoing business of Government by engaging our relationships across portfolios and jurisdictions, as well as building close relationships with external stakeholders, including the private sector, non-government organisations (NGOs) and academics. Monitoring the delivery of the Government’s priorities brings discipline and structure to ensure the implementation of key activities remain on track. Australia’s role in contributing to the international efforts against COVID-19 are also vital. In an increasingly interconnected world it is critical that we maintain visibility of the full range of issues facing our international partners to ensure we are providing robust advice and support.
Across the portfolio, PM&C also supports and shares services with a number of agencies that have been set up to respond to issues of significance:
- The National Indigenous Australians Agency leads and coordinates Commonwealth policy development, program design and implementation and service delivery for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and related roles, including leading the APS’s implementation of the National Agreement on Closing the Gap.
- The National Drought and North Queensland Flood Response and Recovery Agency works hand-in-hand with communities, all levels of government, charities and agricultural organisations to support farmers and other rural and regional Australians living through the immediate and longer-term effects of drought and flood.
- The National Bushfire Recovery Agency works with state, territory and local governments, non-government stakeholders and communities to lead and coordinate national recovery of bushfire-affected communities.
- The National COVID-19 Commission (NCC) Advisory Board has a strategic advisory role in providing a business perspective to the Prime Minister on Australia’s economic recovery. The Advisory Board concentrates its effort on supporting the Government’s plans for Australia’s economic recovery and getting people back into jobs as quickly as possible.
COVID-19 has accelerated global economic and strategic trends, making Australia’s outlook more complex and challenging. Protecting and advancing Australia’s interests in this environment will require sophisticated, cross-cutting policy development, advocacy and implementation at home and abroad, with all parts of this portfolio and all APS agencies contributing to the task.
Capability
The APS has a vital role in supporting Australia manage and recover from the COVID-19 crisis – supporting the Government in developing and delivering its recovery agenda and other priorities and providing essential services and programs for Australians, while managing the ongoing health risks and other challenges. We need to operate effectively together as a unified APS-enterprise, sharing data, solving problems together and directing our resources and expertise where they are needed most. The capable, collaborative and flexible response to the immediate COVID-19 crisis demonstrated the depth and breadth of the APS’s capability.
Building on this momentum, PM&C will support the Secretaries Board to deliver the Government’s December 2019 response to the Independent Review of the APS and its public service reform agenda, Delivering for Australians. In doing so, the Board will focus on practical actions to help the APS respond to the needs of our changed operating environment while building longer-term APS capability. This includes prioritising investment in and development of digital skills and capabilities that are focused on meeting the needs of the broader APS-enterprise, investing in APS leadership and other critical skills, and ensuring that, as a united APS, we are focused on working together to solve problems for Australians. We will also enable the effective operation of the APS through our role in supporting critical APS mechanisms such as the Secretaries Board, other Secretary-level committees and the Chief Operating Officers Committee, and in helping track and drive delivery of Government priorities across the APS.
PM&C has outstanding people and we will continue to draw on the talent, experience and enthusiasm of our staff to navigate through the COVID-19 response and recovery phase. In supporting the Government to meet these challenges, PM&C itself must have the right mix of talent, capacity and capability in place. A new workforce strategy is currently being developed and will ensure our workforce investment aligns with PM&C and APS priorities. The strategy will support proactive management of the welfare of our people and better position us to respond to emerging needs of Government.
Investment in our ICT systems and capability will also continue to be a focus. Over the course of the pandemic so far we have successfully adapted our ICT systems to support the changing work practices as PM&C balanced staff working in the office and from home. PM&C’s ICT Strategy 2021-2023 will guide PM&C’s investment decisions, approaches and practices through to 2023. It consists of four key ICT leadership aspirations: customer focus; flexible, scalable and efficient foundations; secure, resilient, reliable and reusable assets; and confidence in our digital capabilities.
Recent and ongoing events have demonstrated the need for the Department's risk management to remain robust in this complex, evolving and dynamic environment. Our recently released PM&C Risk Management Policy and Framework clearly sets out the Department’s appetite, tolerance and approach for managing risk at both a strategic and an operational level. The risk framework champions a positive risk culture and fosters a 'no surprises' approach to managing risk across PM&C. The Chief Risk Officer (CRO) promotes this culture through regular communications and participation in decision-making as a member of the Executive Board.
By continuing to evolve and adapt, we will be well-positioned to not only serve the government of the day, but also maintain the public's confidence that we are doing our best, with the best tools available, in their best interests. PM&C has already demonstrated a great deal of flexibility and adaptability in responding to emerging priorities and evolving conditions, supporting multiple taskforces and Government priorities in addition to changing working arrangements.